Tony Gilroy Wants Joel Edgerton For 'The Bourne Legacy'

by Kevin Jagernauth
April 21, 2011 8:33 AM
8 Comments

Studio Eyes James McAvoy Or Shia LaBeouf But May Want Aussie Actor For 'Snow White & The Huntsman'

Aussie actor Joel Edgerton is on the cusp of making a major mark in Hollywood. The 36-year-old actor has never been lacking for work. Acclaimed turns in "The Square" and "Animal Kingdom" put him firmly on the Hollywood radar and 2011 is already shaping up to be a helluva year as he's already set for the Tom Hardy MMA flick "Warrior" and the big budget "The Thing" prequel. He's also currently filming the indie flick "The Odd Life of Timothy Green." All that's left for the actor to solidify his place among the top leading men is a franchise, and it looks like he's got a couple to choose from.

Vulture reports that Tony Gilroy wants the actor for "The Bourne Legacy." But as we've have been hearing for a while now, the director and the studio are at odds over casting. Universal are apparently wary of casting a lesser-known name in the role and want James McAvoy or (god fucking forbid) Shia LaBeouf for the part. Adding to the pressure, the estate of Robert Ludlum, whose books serve as the basis for the franchise, apparently want this movie rolling forward fast and a decision will have to come soon as the film is tentatively set to start filming in July. The plethora of names already tossed around as contenders -- Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Jeremy Renner, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Kellan Lutz, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer and Benjamin Walker -- already suggest two different modes of thinking behind the part and it'll be interesting to see if the director and studio can meet in the middle on this. For the record, we think Edgerton is the perfect choice and we hope it comes through, but if it doesn't, the actor has other options.

With Hugh Jackman recently passing and the titular male lead in "Snow White and the Huntsman" still open, Universal is considering the actor for this franchise as well, which seems a bit bizarre. We think 'Bourne' would benefit much more from an "unknown" lead than this fairy tale franchise which will already have a helluva task in luring audiences as Tarsem's Julia Roberts-led film will hit theaters six months before this one.

So, we'll have to see how Universal eventually plays the Joel Edgerton card. Vulture suggests that if he goes to 'Huntsman,' we can expect McAvoy or LaBeouf to land 'Bourne,' but if not, the field remains pretty wide open.

More: Films, Actors, Tony Gilroy, The Bourne Legacy, Snow White And The Huntsman, Joel Edgerton, James McAvoy, Shia LaBeouf

8 Comments

| Reply
Sarah | April 22, 2011 1:13 AMReply

KitCon's Stewart's Twihards don't follow her outside of the Twilight world. Her THREE movies last year made a combined total of $6 Million. Julia Roberts movies make at least $60 Million. Twihards don't follow any of the actors outside that over dramatic fantasy if Universal is counting on them they are going to wake up to disaster.
Jessie | April 21, 2011 11:21 AMReply

Another Australian actor tested for the part at Universal too, but he's younger than Edgerton: Erryn Arkin... and not as well known http://imdb.com/news/ni9334590/
sp | April 21, 2011 9:44 AMReply

KitCon , I am not a Julia Roberts fan, but ' Eat Pray Love ' earned over $204 million worldwide. That proves she is still a huge box office draw- especially with a film that lousy.
KitCon | April 21, 2011 9:25 AMReply

Roberts' Snow may hit first but she hasn't been a huge draw in the last few films were she was lead (Duplicity and Eat Pray Love) and Uni's Snow has Stewart's Twihards + Theron. Would probably give the edge to Uni.
Ryan | April 21, 2011 9:17 AMReply

I want the Paul Dano 'Bourne Legacy' audition tape to leak online.
Javier | April 21, 2011 9:16 AMReply

Complaining about the opinions on this blog is like complaining about a TV show with the remote in your hand.

At least there's a resource like this that exists. Move around if you don't see it that way.
Kevin Klawitter | April 21, 2011 8:56 AMReply

LOOK AT HOW COOL WE ARE!!! WE'RE BASHING SHIA LABEOUF!!!

Seriously, you guys are so transparent it's starting to become disgusting.
Ryan | April 21, 2011 8:47 AMReply

I know I'm gonna catch hell for this, but I still have faith in Shia LaBeouf. He was hilarious on "Even Stevens."

Bring on the hate...